Governor Joan Finney of Topeka, Kansas, writes the State House of Representatives, also of Topeka, to explain her position on House Bill 2578. The bill reinstated the death penalty in Kansas for the crime of capital murder, as defined in the bill. Though opposed to capital punishment, Finney allowed the bill to become law without her signature. This law was the first to reinstate capital punishment in Kansas since the 1972 U. S. Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia overturned many state capital punishment laws.

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Governor Joan Finney of Topeka, Kansas, writes the State House of Representatives, also of Topeka, to explain her position on House Bill 2578. The bill reinstated the death penalty in Kansas for the crime of capital murder, as defined in the bill. Though opposed to capital punishment, Finney allowed the bill to become law without her signature. This law was the first to reinstate capital punishment in Kansas since the 1972 U. S. Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia overturned many state capital punishment laws.